A day, crucial and cathartic, in the life of a young Catholic schoolteacher who has returned to Ireland after a year's sabbatical in London where he married an American divorcee. As a result he now faces certain dismissal by the school authorities. Moving from the earliest memories of both the man and the woman, the novel recreates their breaking of the shackles of guilt and duty into the acceptance of a fulfilling adult love.
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
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A luminous novel of love and acceptance in twentieth-century Ireland—by "one of the best stylists in English prose" -- Newsweek
He has transformed situations and scenes common in experience into something rich and strange, something uncommonly beautiful. -- The Sunday Independent, London
McGahern brings us the tonic gift of the best fiction, the sense of truth—the sense of transparency that permits us to see imaginary lives more clearly than we see our own. -- John Updike --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
He has transformed situations and scenes common in experience into something rich and strange, something uncommonly beautiful. -- The Sunday Independent, London
McGahern brings us the tonic gift of the best fiction, the sense of truth—the sense of transparency that permits us to see imaginary lives more clearly than we see our own. -- John Updike --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
John McGahern (1934–2006) was the author of six novels, including The Dark and Amongst Women (winner of Ireland’s GPA Book Prize), four volumes of short stories, and a memoir. He received numerous awards, including Ireland’s most prestigious literary prize, the AE Memorial Award.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
In his Irish mind,
By nonpareil (rural New England, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Leavetaking (Paperback)
There is little question that McGahern's highly-touted writing is autobiographical. That bothers me only because he so belabors what's in his mind; it is not creative but ruminative. To me the value is that he has some special ability to ponder then express his thoughts in a particularly lucid manner, and that he chronicles Irish life of his time - not just physical and social details, but the overall emotional climate. In those regards he is a great craftsman.In "The Leavetaking" he deals primarily with teaching in Catholic Ireland where the state is paying but allowing the clergy to make all their Rome-directed, hate-filled, hide-bound decisions that in no way follow the teachings of Christ. The other theme, of course, is the lingering, never resolved aftermath of McGahern's mother's death, woven into the mindcloth of the protagonist. The scene is set: you, the reader, are in the Ireland of the time, then in London with the leavetaker, then flowing into the rest of your life.
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First Sentence:
I watch a gull's shadow float among feet on the concrete as I walk in a day of my life with a bell, its brass tongue in my hand, and think after all that the first constant was water. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Father Curry, Stag's Head, Mother Mary Martin, Sacred Heart, Dress Dance, Holland Park, James Sharkey New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
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I watch a gull's shadow float among feet on the concrete as I walk in a day of my life with a bell, its brass tongue in my hand, and think after all that the first constant was water. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Father Curry, Stag's Head, Mother Mary Martin, Sacred Heart, Dress Dance, Holland Park, James Sharkey New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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